I found this article about being fully aware of your surroundings and being able to 'read' the situation. It's more geared towards danger etc however the principle is the same for body language and being hyper aware of what the surroundings and BL are telling you.

How important do you feel situational awareness is? Do you practice this skill? Being perceptive with regards to BL is imperative

Wow what a brilliant really interesting article thanks so much for the post.Its a fascinating subject sometimes you do things without realising as well that fall into this category of situational awareness. I ride a bike and we train ourselves to be mindful of the road signs of danger eg you can smell harvest time in the air and you can see grain on the road, so you know there are tractors and lorries around many corners at different times of the year. You see differences in road surfacing, which will affect grip. You see drivers acting in ways that are anomalous and it heightens you awareness to if they are going to pull out or turn when they shouldn't. You notice dampness in the air for wet and dry conditions under trees where you can skid etc. So you can learn these things for other situations as well. Im certainly going to try to think about situational awareness actively in my work more now. To answer your question I think its a key skill.

My situational awareness muscle needs to be used more, it's something I'm aware that I'm not too good at, and I need to practice more. I'll use this article to inspire me to be more aware of my surroundings

I find all this sort of stuff fascinating and I pride myself on being a perceptive person. I can say something to someone and they wouldnt have a clue what I'd be talking about as they hadnt noticed! I try to practice these skills as being aware of your surroundings is important furthermore, It gives you a heightened sense of awareness for picking up on body language ques.

I think that situational awareness is overrated when it comes to security and physical safety, at least in ordinary situations.

However, situational awareness is hugely important when it comes to assess people and "reading their mind", I always find it surprised how little other people take note of such small but telling gestures.